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The 71st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity concluded with the penultimate awards night. The awards were presented for the Film Lions, Glass: The Lions for Change, Sustainable Development Goals Lions, The Dan Wieden Titanium Lion, and The Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good categories. Special awards were also announced to demonstrate Cannes Lions' dedication towards transparent and accurate results. Creative Company of the Year : 1. WPP 2. Omnicom Media Group 3. Interpublic Group (IPG) Network of the Year : 1. Ogilvy 2. Publicis Worldwide 3. DDB Worldwide Independent Network of the Year : 1. Rethink 2. Edelman 3. Serviceplan Group Agenturgruppe Agency of the Year : 1. Publicis Conseil, Paris, France 2. Rethink, Toronto, Canada 3. Ogilvy, New York, United States Independent Agency of the Year : 1. Rethink, Toronto, Canada 2. Edelman, London, United Kingdom 3. Klick Health, Toronto, Canada Palme d'Or : SMUGGLER, United States Creative Brand of the Year : 1. The Coca-Cola Company 2. The HEINEKEN Company 3. Apple Wieden + Kennedy | Superette | DoorDash | Marcel, Paris | Orange | The Monkeys | Accenture Song | Sydney Opera House | Ogilvy Singapore | Vaseline | Publicis Conseil Paris | Renault Group | INNOCEAN Berlin | Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Congratulations to all the winners! #Creativity #CannesLions #Advertising #Winners #Adtechtoday

Every year, I go into Cannes a bit cynical, questioning whether it is all a bit performative. This year, however, I had a very different experience. Sure, there were certainly still aspects that were more spectacle than substance, but on the whole, I was inspired – by the work, by the camaraderie, and by the emphasis on true #creativity. For every benign, redundant mention of AI, there was an impassioned case made for the power of originality and unexpected creativity. I might have expected this from creative agencies, but I was most encouraged by the championing of creativity from the esteemed panel of CMO’s at Forbes' Most Influential CMO Luncheon.     Perhaps, we are collectively over the seduction of predictability and (faux) certainty. Perhaps, we are all realizing the diminishing returns of relentlessly pursued risk mitigation. Perhaps, the extremes of either dull sameness or shallow gimmicks will yield to smart, beautiful, big, bold, important ideas that build real brands and drive real business and if we are lucky, move society forward along the way.     I left Cannes feeling the renaissance has begun and that TBWA is exactly the right place to be for it, where Disruption is not a catchphrase, but an essence and a mandate.   My optimism was a direct result of spending time with Kyle Chayka, Lucia Aniello, Ben Tallon, Flau’jae Johnson, Beatrice Domond, Seth Matlins, The amazing women hosted by The Female Quotient, our ambitious clients, and my fellow Pirates.   As my partner Bruno Regalo says, a new season starts now – so may we all contribute to the renaissance and show up in Cannes next year with work that makes us proud.   Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity | TBWA\Worldwide | TBWA\Chiat\Day | Omnicom | Troy Ruhanen | Courtney Nelson | Emily Wilcox | Jen Costello | Anh-Thu Le | Kirsten Rutherford |Jacqueline Redmond | Desmond Marzette | Mark Weinstein | Hilton | Jennifer Murillo | Discover Financial Services | Ryan Ostrom | Jack in the Box | Kate Cronin | Moderna | Brandi Ray | Jane Wakely | PepsiCo    #CannesLions2024 #OmnicomCannes #TheDisruptionCompany

Day 4 at the 71st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity concluded with the prestigious Cannes Lions being awarded for the Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Business Transformation, Creative Commerce, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy Innovation, and the newly introduced Luxury and Lifestyle Lions. The night also saw the Regional Network of the Year Awards announced. Here's a list of winners Regional Network of the Year - Asia : Ogilvy Regional Network of the Year - Europe : Publicis Worldwide Regional Network of the Year - MENA : BBDO Worldwide Regional Network of the Year - Latin America : DDB Worldwide Regional Network of the Year - North America : FCB Global Regional Network of the Year - Pacific : BBDO Worldwide Regional Network of the Year - Sub-Saharan Africa : TBWA\Worldwide Weber Shandwick Chicago | Pop-Tarts | Loewe Madrid | Klick Health Toronto | KVI Brave Fund Inc. | Rethink Toronto | Kraft Heinz | Dentsu Creative Amsterdam | KPN | LePub | Amsterdam | Philips | Publicis Conseil Paris | Renault Group Congratulations to the winners!  #Creativity #CannesLions #Advertising #Winners #Adtechtoday

Some gems here.

“To Cannes or not Cannes?” There seemed to be a time when people celebrated success, rewarded creativity and banded together as a bunch of talented misfits, celebrating the great and good of the advertising industry, applauding each other whilst getting totally off their nut with only photos to prove they were there. Sadly (to me) it seems those times have gone. Yes, Cannes cost a lot of money. Yes, it’s all a bit pretentious, and yes, there will be PLENTY of folks who say it’s shite - however I bet if someone did a survey it would be those that didn’t get invited, couldn’t afford to go, couldn’t get time off, or are simply aren't that good that complain the loudest. Yes, yes, there will be those that hate crowds, don’t care about awards and think the whole thing is a bunch of irritating guff… If this was true let’s scrap all forms of awards then. The Oscars? Who gives a shit. Having had the pleasure to work with creatives at all levels (from interns to CCO’s) across the globe, and from all walks of life, I know so many of them care a great deal when their work is applauded on the global stage. It means a HUGE amount to them. If you don’t care, that’s fine. But I’ve seen so much negativity around Cannes on LinkedIn and ‘what it stands for’ it’s made my stomach churn. Choosing not to enter, to shy away from awards quietly is perfectly fine. Knowing who you are, what you stand for, and ensuring best in-class results for you, your team, your clients is HUGELY admirable. Honestly... that would probably be my style and approach. However, if I won at Cannes I’d be proud as hell. The recognition of my efforts, my teams efforts, my agencies efforts, my family for putting up with all my late nights and mood swings, etc. So, if you have won at Cannes, well fucking done. If you have attended for the event to rub shoulders with influencers, meet mates, or just to get pissed. Well done to you too. Here’s to the awards, the parties and the hangovers. Without them, what’s the point. #cannes #awards #opinions #winning #parties MCG Talent

Enter the Lions' den 🦁 Last week was the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the largest gathering for those who work in creative communications, advertising and related industries. The week-long event celebrated the best in advertising with the Lions awards and educated attendees with talks on industry trends. Some of the key branding takeaways: 🤖 AI is here to stay Artificial intelligence and its impact on the industry was heavily discussed with many brand activations at the festival involving the usage of AI. While some talked about the capabilities that allowed for better work, others talked about the pitfalls such as the lack of diversity in AI-generated images. 🤝 The business case for inclusivity Due to diversity fatigue and culture wars, many companies have begun defunding their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. However, one panel at the festival highlighted the commercial benefits of more progressive advertising, citing it helps brands sell more and retain customers. ⚖️ Brands can’t shy away from politics Sessions highlighted the importance of brands getting involved in politics. According to Research Live, 60% of consumers buy brands based on their politics. 🎨 The power of the creator economy This year was the first time the festival included a Creator Pass, an initiative designed specifically for content creators to learn about the advertising industry. Simon Cook, the CEO of Lions, acknowledged the major contributions influencers have had in advertising and the potential growth of the creator economy. Creators with a real connection to their audience are who brands should be partnering with, not necessarily the biggest names. 🏎️ Embrace the now The “Coors Lights Out” ad campaign, born from a pure accident that went viral, was a Lions Award winner. Shohei Ohtani, a baseball player, damaged a billboard featuring a Coors Light ad with a foul ball, and within 48 hours, Coors responded with a special edition can that replicated the damaged ad. Brands should be moving fast to capitalize on what’s happening in culture. Want to learn more about the Cannes Lions Festival? Visit canneslions.com 📸 Contagious ---------- #canneslions #cannes #branding #globalbranding #brandingcontent #brandingmanagement #strategicbranding #brandingforbusiness #professionalbranding #brandingstrategies #svanyc #mastersinbranding #svamastersinbranding #svamib #schoolofvisualarts #sva #svabranding #branding #gradschool #mpsbranding

I have a love-hate relationship with advertising and marketing. That feeling about Commercial Creativity is never closer to the surface than at this time of the year, when Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity comes around again. By Commercial Creativity I mean the loosely defined name given to a group of activities from the marketing function in a business, to those who help those marketers do what they need to do, the advertising, media and branding agencies and everything in between. I was for a long time of this world: Chief Strategy Officer of EMEA, Global EXCO, Global Creative Council for the then named Y&R - VMLY&R (and now VML!) and then Chief Marketing Officer for the United Nations World Food Programme. I did lots of things in those roles, some of those are still part of my life, but they are no longer all of my life. This is an exploration of the good, bad and ugly of the industry, the importance of metas and what you might do if you want to try something different. (A shorter version of this was first published by my friends and colleagues at BeenThereDoneThat - thank you. David Alberts, Nikki Crumpton and Marielle Kouroushi-Phillips). Saïd Business School, University of Oxford #marketing #branding #advertising #careers #personaldevelopment #growth

Is it time for Cannes Lions to have a Multicultural Category? Like many of you, every year when I leave the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, I leave inspired. And since I’ve had the honor to a judge a few times in my career, I’m always challenged to do my part to move the industry forward. First, I would like to give credit where credit is due. Cannes Lions has done well when it comes to supporting and encouraging diversity and inclusion, especially for people of color. This year I saw more folks that looked like me strolling La Croisette than ever before. This is thanks in part to Inkwell founder, Adrianne Smith and the Cannes Do Initiative, and recently Peter Ukhurebor of BLK@ and Imani Laners’ The Impact of Color Cannes.  Kudos when it comes to agencies, brands and companies bringing in talent from the entertainment, music and sports industries respectively. But with all of that, I find it lacking in The Work itself. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we are celebrating? Having a dedicated multicultural category would go a long way to set the stage for more entries that have truly targeted multicultural creative, strategic consumer insights, PR, media, activations and data executions. This also applies to the opportunity for multicultural agencies, brands and media companies that unceremoniously contribute so much to the industry, to be seen on the world stage. Many Bronze, Silver, Gold and even Grand Prix Lions have been taken home that have borrowed, tapped into or have been influenced by trends that were created from multicultural communities. It’s past time to give multicultural the opportunity to get its flowers. Or better yet…it’s Lions. #CannesLions2024 #CannesLions #Creativity #CannesDo #BlackAtCannes

👉Collisions create sparks, so fearlessly embrace the differences✨   This week, I had the privilege of immersing myself in a wealth of creative insights shared by Guan Hin Tay, the Creative Chairman of BBDO Worldwide Singapore. The course reignited my passion for creativity through the intriguing case studies and ads that were presented, inspiring me to craft campaigns that rival those of the industry luminaries I admire.💓   A pivotal takeaway is the importance of embracing unconventional thinking and fearlessly initiating collisions of ideas. During my year in the advertising agency realm, I encountered numerous challenges that demanded innovative solutions to captivate target audiences and stand out in the market. However, I occasionally failed due to an overreliance on conventional strategies and common ideas. From now on, I know that by daring to collide familiar concepts, we can unlock more possibilities and creativities that were previously unexplored. Therefore, I am committed to embracing collisions and shattering conventions!🙌   I deeply appreciate Pei Wen Wong for arranging this journey of collision. I can't wait to think outside the box and apply all these treasured insights as we brainstorm for our upcoming advertising contest in D&AD! Let's harness this momentum to elevate our creativity and deliver projects that shine with the pride of MMC and NTU. Exciting times lie ahead!🏆 #MMC #NTUSG #MC6348 #IssueinteractiveinAdvertising #Creativity

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has unveiled its annual State of Creativity Report, capturing the perspectives of 3000 marketers and creatives in a comprehensive survey of today's creative environment.   The study sheds light on the dynamics of both internal and external relationships, highlighting significant disparities in how brands perceive the agency-client relationship compared to their agency partners. Whether you’re on the brand side or agency side, junior or executive, this report serves as a comprehensive guide offering actionable insights to help navigate potential pitfalls and implement effective strategies across your organization.   Click here: https://bit.ly/3PwSiNx to access the full report. #cannes #canneslions #stateofcreativityreport #creativity #survey #brands #agencies #communication #report